The Alternate Epilogue of The Games
by JMolover13
Summary: This IS an epilogue of my story "The Games." 10 years after chapter 29 of "The Games," Regina, Emma, Chip and Allison decide to have a family reunion of sorts. It is fluffy and the children have stolen the spotlight.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Okay, it came to my attention from a reviewer and a couple good friends that with this LONG version of an Epilogue that I was taking away from the story. After thinking about it I decided that the kind people that brought it to my attention were right. I didn't want to not post it because I do like it, but it's just not fitting to the tone of the rest of the story. So, some, maybe a lot of you have already read this first chapter. I have already gotten reviews for it (see the bottom of the page).**

**I hope that you all enjoyed "The Games" and I hope that you enjoy this alternate, lengthy version with tons of kids and extra characters.**

**PS-There is a page I created on my tumblr (elisesdean) that contains all the other things I did for this story: The cover photo, a map, a family tree****—**for this version!**—**and a dream cast list**—**again, for this version of the ending.

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Epilogue Part I:**

A decade passed.

Emma and Regina came to rule over the Shadow Lands and the White Kingdom—Snow and Charming swiftly signed the White Kingdom over as soon as they were given the news that Regina was pregnant.

Regina and Emma then instated Emma's great-grandfather to remake the laws of the lands. He knew that he should uphold the traditions of the lands, but he also knew that he needed to update the laws with the times as the Regina had been trying to do since she'd come into power. The first thing he did, to everyone's pleasure but the court, was get rid of the court. He kept on a few men, the legislative linguists and just to be safe, extreme, radical, and moderate men on both the left and right sides of the spectrum to keep him in line and focused. Lord Big Shnoz was not one of those men. Other than that, he tried to work on his relationship with Maleficent. She allows him to call her Phyllipina now.

Snow and Charming officially moved into the castle around the same time Maleficent and Aurora moved from the quarters next to Regina and Emma to a more vacant wing in the castle. Maleficent and Snow had very different memories of Eva, and that led to many a conversation between the two. Maleficent and Aurora still didn't want children, but they were happy and entertained all the many children that occupied the castle.

And there were a LOT of children in the castle now. Between everyone living in the castle there were 15 kids ranging from 3 months to 12 years.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Regina and Emma had a little girl: Bailee Eva Remma White. Regina wanted to name the baby after Emma's grandmother and Emma wanted to name the baby after the two of them, so they made their picks her middle names and asked Snow and Charming to name her. They didn't wait to discuss it; "Bailee" fell from their lips just after they were asked. It, of course, came to be known that had Emma had a little sister that was going to be the name they chose. A daughter for their daughter worked just as well.

Bailee was the apple of her mothers' eyes for a whole eight years. She fascinated everyone in the castle when they learned that she had magic; more specifically she fascinated them—as they weren't surprised with the fact that she had magic—when they saw that her magic was both purple and blue. She was part Pure One. This had never happened in the history of the pure ones, so after a visit to the cave, they learned that this was going to happen as time went on; essentially, they are starting a family of Pure Ones.

Regina and Emma never promised Bailee another brother or sister every time she asked; they simply said that if the gods wanted them to welcome another magical, pure baby that they would. Then, the week or so after Bailee's eighth birthday her brunette mom started getting nauseous. Bailee soon learned that it was because her moms _finally_ got another baby growing in her brunette mother's belly. David Henry (named after their fathers, 'Henry' coming second so as not to confuse things with the French King) is now three months and Bailee is a very good big sister.

~0~0~0~0~0~

The week before Bailee's birth, the new and enlarged and improved Shadow Lands made another drastic move. Chip and Allison married, stepping up to take the Western crown. Chip asked—not expecting an affirmative answer, and after consulting with Allison of course—if Regina and Emma wanted to combine their lands and rule together. He told them that Emma and Regina would have more say over the lands than he and Allison, but as they got down to the nitty, gritty part of the conversation, Emma shook her head. She looked to her wife and said, "They will rule with us over all the lands. Each person has a vote. And, if the predecessors want, they've a vote as well."

It was a week after Bailee's birth that Allison and Chip moved into the Shadow Castle. They became neighbors with Regina and Emma, deciding to have a 'royal hallway' of sorts.

After a year went by and the newest little princess was walking and scooting and sneaking around, Allison learned she was pregnant. The baby took two-thirds the time to grow. This was because of the wolf in Chip and the human in Allison. So, six months later, Allison gave birth to a baby girl. She was healthy and happy. Allison had wanted to keep her last name around, so Cameron Winona Lucas was the second official princess to the new Shadow Kingdom.

And four years or so later, Liam Christopher, the first Shadow Prince was welcomed to the world. Liam just turned three and Cameron seven. And, just like Bailee, Cameron is a very good big sister—or maybe Bailee was a good sister from watching Cameron…

~0~0~

Red and Belle became very happy grandparents, not unlike Snow and Charming. Also, like Snow and Charming with Maleficent, they had new family that they needed to get to know.

As it turned out, Ruby and Red were twins, the only survivors of their clan. Neither knew about the other, but their stories of their mother, their mother's name, who was in the clan, all of it was the same. And, after a quick genetics test, thanks to the lovely Dr. Allison Cameron, they learned that they were in fact sisters.

They moved into the Shadow castle quickly after their son and daughter-in-law. Regina made the observation that she was going to have to expand the castle or tear it down and just make a 'royal neighborhood'. No one is sure if the latter would have been better or not, but at this point, the castle did act as an indoor neighborhood.

~0~0~0~0~0~

The biggest surprise, or the most surprises, came from Ruby and Graham. They were the third couple to marry (they came just after Maleficent and Aurora). And just six months later, they learned they were pregnant. And just six months after that, Graham and Ruby gave birth to a litter. Literally. They had quintuplets. Three girls and two boys. Rosalie, Roxanne, Robin, Grant and Grayson are all 8 now.

As the were-cubs came into everyone's lives, Allison deduced that Red and Belle had only one wolf because they were both women and created a magical baby—and that might be why he's 'evolved.' That might also be why she and her husband only had the one child: She, the female, was the human, and Chip, the male, was the wolf; where Ruby and Graham, a _female_ werewolf and a _male_ human created the litter.

Ruby was always fascinated with what Allison had to say, but what was more fascinating to her was how someone so pretty would work so hard to become a doctor to hide her looks. That led to an interesting conversation about an old boss of Allison's…

Not surprisingly, the quints were a handful. Everyone did their best to help when they could. Grandmas Ruby and Belle—who decided it was easier to just be called 'grandma' rather than 'aunt' by a few kids and 'grandmother' by a couple kids—helped out most as all they had to do in the day was play with the kids. This also helped Ruby and Red form a tighter bond.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Pinocchio and Rapunzel tried to take things slow. Rapunzel tried to hold out Pinocchio's advances, and Pinocchio tried to resist them in the first place. But somehow after only two years, they'd married and had a bun in the oven. Jefferson didn't let that one go lightly; he'd asked if 'nest in a tree' was a more appropriate term. Flynn Eugene was now 3 and there was no sign of him being a toy or ever becoming one.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Jefferson and Delaney took their relationship as it came to them. When Grace turned six, she asked them why they weren't married because they obviously loved each other like Aunts Emma and Regina. Jefferson knit his brows and looked to his daughter before looking to his girlfriend, "Would you marry me if I asked?"

"If you asked." Delany nodded, ensuring her answer would be yes.

12-year-old Grace now had 7-year-old twin sisters, Hope and Faith , and a 5-year-old sister, Mercy. Delaney wanted to keep a theme with the names and Jefferson enjoyed it. He secretly hoped for a boy, but after meeting each of them, he couldn't imagine life without his girls.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Bae and Hook made their way around a few realms and in one, they found Mulan—or, Mulan almost killed Hook and seized his ship as she ran from her village and country for being outed as a woman. They weren't as accepting and praising as one might hope. They didn't even thank her for saving them all from the Huns.

It was as Hook looked over the warrior, as she sat on his chest with a knife to his throat; it was as they verbally sparred; and it was as he always made his verbal sparring dirty, that he knew that this was the woman he was going to spend the rest of his days with. She was feisty. He feared for his life. He liked that.

He played it cool though; let her think she was actually seizing the ship and taking them both hostage. Then he made his move and the two of them never looked back.

In another realm, they found Tiana. Bae had run from the ship as soon as they docked. This was mainly because Hook talked about wanting alone time with Mulan, and Bae was not going to stick around for that conversation—even if Hook got rejected, Bae just couldn't get on board with that. So, he started touring the seaside town and smelled the most wonderful food coming from one of the restaurants. His stomach brought him in, but he stayed because of his waitress.

When Hook and Mulan finally found him, staring longingly after Tiana, they decided to stay in the town a while. They knew that Bae would need more time to woo this stubborn, proud woman.

Needless to say, when they finally made it home from their trip, they took the castle by surprise. Since that time, Tiana and Bae married; they were the last to marry of everyone. And they had a baby boy, Neal. He was three now.

Mulan liked making Hook sweat in his boots; she also liked being independent and in her mind, independence came without a marriage contract or a husband or wife to depend on. She said yes to the engagement after Hook told her that he didn't expect marriage, he just wanted her to wear a ring so that men would stop coming on to her. His possessive jealousy and that damn beautiful ring were enough for her to say 'yes.'

~0~0~0~0~0~

As the years passed, the representatives and royals went to many a wedding, but it had been a full two years since the last wedding. And that was precisely why Regina, Emma, Chip and Allison decided it was time to have everyone back in the Shadow Castle. It was going to be one large family-esque reunion. They invited all the royals and former competitors for Regina's hand to the Shadow Castle and the first of the arrivals were coming that day.

This was precisely the reason that the castle was abuzz with excitement. And the reason that Regina was in the main foyer yelling at people, telling them where to put things. It was also the reason Emma had David for the first line of defense as she and the baby joined her in the foyer.

"Oh, David, Mommy's so happy to have more people in the castle even though it's already bursting with 13 kids, five official advisors, five wives-slash-significant others that are also advisors, four grandparents, and two other royals that share the throne with us. Yes she is." Emma cooed at their three month old as she stood a few feet from her wife, holding his body and neck with one arm and his head with her other hand so that he was looking up at her. "So happy." David loved the silly tone of his mother's voice and started laughing a big belly laugh. "Oh, that's so funny, huh?" She moved her the hand that held his neck up so that the one arm held his entire weight, then covered his eyes a moment with the other before retracting her hand quickly, playing peek-a-boo, "So funny!" She sang as his eyes were unveiled. She earned another laugh, "So funny!" She said as she repeated the gesture.

"Darling?" Regina's voice was laced with irritation.

"Yes, my love?" Emma only changed David's position, putting his diapered tushy on her sternum, letting the baby really, truly be the first line of defense now that she had made their presence known.

"Darling, do you think you could take David and maybe, I don't know… put him down for a nap like you were going to an hour ago?"

"Honey, he won't sleep." Emma tilted her head to the side of her son to look at her wife, "He knows that his mommas are excited about something and he's refusing to miss it."

Regina sighed, knowingly. She stared at her baby boy, "Are you excited?"

Emma saw a smoke out of the corner of her eyes, "Bailee Cakes is excited, that's for sure."

Bailee's smoke faded revealing the nine-year-old, "Momma, how do you always know?"

"She's your mother. She just knows." Regina said as she took David from Emma's arms.

"I do. I just know."

Bailee eyed her blonde mother, "Yes, but how?!"

Emma smirked, "I'm not going to teach you the ways of the Pure until you're old enough."

"Well, when will that be? I can already do basically everything you can do anyways…"

Emma tried to keep a stern face as she crossed her arms, but her amusement of her daughter's arrogance gave way in the form of a smile. Bailee stared back with a knowing smile and eventually, Emma reached forward, pulling her daughter into a hug. "In due time, mini-me, okay?"

"Okay Momma." Bailee accepted that answer then looked to her other mother and baby brother, "Hi David." She smiled as she moved from her blonde mother to his face and kissed his cheek.

Regina smirked, "Would you like to hold your brother?"

Bailee smiled up at her mother, nodding, "Yeah."

Regina nodded back as she glanced to her lover, "Alright." She handed the baby over to her daughter.

"GIVE IT BACK!"

The scream of a young girl came from down the hall.

"GO! GO GRANT! WE GOT HER!"

Another tiny, feminine cry followed.

The pounding of fast footfalls were heard down the same hall, and a grunt, thud and thump followed then there were even faster footfalls than before.

"I SAID GIVE IT BACK!"

One of the culprits, one of Graham and Ruby's boys, Grant made it to the foyer, before Chip and Allison's girl, Cameron tackled him and took her sketchbook back. After they got up, Cameron shoved him as best she could. Then turned from him as the tears finally pricked her eyes.

"Awe, are you gonna cry? _Little_ _princess_ gonna cry 'cause I took her pretty little drawings?"

Regina, by this time, walked over to the two werewolf children and coughed loudly.

"Oh! Miss Regina!" Grant looked down, digging his foot in the ground innocently.

"Sorry, Miss Regina." Cameron looked down as well, hugging her sketchbook.

"What's going on here?" She asked as she took a curly lock of blonde hair of the other princess and stared at the little girl.

Cameron's response was automatic and immediate, "Nothing."

"Cameron?" Regina prompted.

"Go ahead, _princess._" Grant got behind her and muttered.

Cameron squeezed her eyes shut, hugging her sketchbook tighter, "Miss Regina, nothing's going on."

Emma saw the look of disdain for the were-boy in her daughter's eyes, "Go see if you have any luck putting him down for a nap, okay Bailee?" She whispered before walking over to her wife, who was debating on how to handle the situation.

"I think you're lying to me Cameron." Regina said before looking to Grant, "Grant, you want to tell my why you tried to run away from her with her sketchbook?"

Grant looked at the ground, "I didn't try to run away from her…"

Cameron glared, this time saying something, "But you did! Even though you know I'm faster than you, you—"

"You are not faster than me!"

"Then how come you only got to the foyer before I caught you up?"

The rest of the quints and Jefferson's twins made their way into the foyer after hearing the Shadow Queen's voice.

"Because I let you, _Princess_!"

"Stop calling me that like it's bad! Just because you're not a prince—"

"I wouldn't want to be a prince even if I was."

"_You_ _shouldn't_ have the right to a kingdom even if you did!"

"Okay!" Emma clapped her hands once to stop the fight before it started. Then she came forward, and placed her hands on the shoulders of Cameron, who looked so much like her mother and so much like Emma that it was a little scary. Cameron looked up at her, "You wanna go for a walk, Ditto?" the pet name came quickly as Allison and Emma saw just how much Cameron was going to look like them both.

Cameron looked at the woman thinking she was in trouble, but quickly nodded, as she realized Emma was simply getting her away from her cousins, "Yes."

Emma let her hands fall from the girl's shoulders and moved to her side, offering her hand.

"What's going on in here?" Chip and Allison came in the room with slightly overprotective, angry looks on their faces. Chip had obviously heard the fight and the scolding and relayed the news to his wife.

"Nothing!" Cameron said before taking Emma's hand.

Emma looked to them both, "We're going for a walk." She stared at her best friend, "Is that alright?"

Chip knew that Emma was just trying to take Cameron away from the situation. He swallowed and looked to his wife, who merely squeezed his hand telling him to allow their daughter to leave with Emma. None of the parents ever wanted to step on the other parents' toes when dealing with the children as a whole or single unit; so in situations like this, if the actual parent shows up or is there but the child goes to another adult they always made sure to ask permission.

…That is unless one of the parents were a little angry. Chip, in this moment was a little angry after seeing his daughter's sad face. He didn't hesitate as he zeroed in on Grant. "Why do you think you've the right to treat people the way you treat Cameron? I'm not asking you because she's my daughter, I'm asking you because she's a being with feelings. Just like you. Not only that, but she's a wolf. How can you treat another wolf that way when we are running on extinction…?"

Red, Belle, Ruby and Graham walked into the foyer.

"We'll handle it, Chip." Ruby said as she took her son's hand; she could smell his anger and was only happy that he didn't do more than just question him.

"Yes, as you've 'handled' it so many times before." He rolled his eyes at the woman.

"Watch your tone with my wife, Sir." Graham took a step into Chip's space.

Chip grit his teeth, "Watch your son around my daughter, Sir."

Graham nodded, as he tried to think of a comeback, but nothing came. He relented, knowing their son was at fault, yet again, for causing the ruckus. He clapped the man on the shoulder and walked with him out of wolf range, "We're doing everything we can. We can't watch him 24/7 and the nannies can't keep up at all times…"

Chip took a calming breath as he stared past Graham to the boy and looked apologetically to Ruby. He let his gaze turn back to Graham, "I know… Lucky for you, I believe in fate. And I believe in karma and dharma. And I believe, that your son will get what's coming to him. I just hope he's prepared."

Graham knit his brows, "Is that a threat?"

Chip chuckled, "Good friend, if it were a threat, I'd have my fangs out. You know that." He gave the man a toothy smile before walking back over to his wife.

Graham stood there contemplating the other man's words. He couldn't deny that he didn't believe in those things as well, and he couldn't deny that he had a feeling that his son would get what's coming to him. He just didn't know what to think when he heard the words come from someone else's mouth.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma and Cameron walked down the long corridors and weaved through the bottom floor of the castle a couple times before deciding on the steps leading to the yard that the kids all played in. Cameron sat with her knees pulled to her chest; her eyes were wet. Emma sat next to her and stared out at the green.

She didn't say anything at first; she didn't know what to say aside from 'kids will be kids' or 'let bygones be bygones'. And those weren't good enough.

Finally, she opened her mouth, "On a scale of one to 'I want to run away', how bad is it?" She kept her stare on the yard; she didn't look at the young girl. On one side there was the garden and the other the hedge maze. Emma well knew that the property was lined with a fence, but she also knew that the little girl she was sitting next to was no normal little girl.

Cameron inhaled, wanting to speak, but only exhaled once more. She tried again as she felt tears come to her, "Sometimes…" And for the third time she inhaled, "Sometimes I…" She swallowed the lump, "Sometimes I can't decide which way would be easier. I could go through the garden, pick fruits and vegetables before I leave that way everyone knows I'm not hungry right away. Or, I can just run the hedge and be out in no time."

Emma nodded. She didn't feel the tears come to her eyes, but she did notice her vision had blurred. "I don't have any wise advice. I don't have anything to make it easier… But I can tell you that everyone in this castle would be devastated if you left."

"Grant wouldn't. And Robin wouldn't. And the other quints would be happy that they didn't have to put up with them and me."

"Grant is a butt face. And Robin is a butt face too. Is she the one that held you down while Grant got the head start?" Emma didn't let her answer, "What am I saying? Of course she was…" She sighed, "The other quints don't put up with you. They put up with Grant and Robin. They just don't stop them like they should." She looked to the girl finally. She gave the girl a half smile, "Grant and Robin are jealous of you. That's all." She let her half smile grow, "Own it. Don't let it bring you down. Don't let them deter you from who you are…" She put her hand on the girl's knee, "And don't run away. Not yet. Wait until everyone leaves in a week and a half because… who knows? A week and a half can change everything… A minute can change everything." She shrugged, "Everything was changed for me the minute I met Miss Regina."

"You think I'll fall in love?" The girl asked confused and a little disgusted by the notion.

"No…" Emma chuckled, "But I think that there are three more kids around your age and the ogre triplets and a baby headed this way. And I know that you'll want to see Amelia again. She's coming today. She was cool, wasn't she? She gave you a lot of cool stuff for your drawings?"

Allison nodded, "She's really powerful." She toyed with the edge of her sketchbook.

Emma smiled, "Yes. That's what happens when your father is a genie and your mother a muse…" She looked over to her mini-look alike, "And then Princess Olive and Prince Walker. Walker's coming today, like Amelia, and Olive is coming in three more days… You like them, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess. They're nice I suppose. But Walker likes my cousins more than me. And Olive doesn't say much or hang around kids unless Bailee's there…"

Emma looked off in thought, "Have you met Remy? I don't think that you have… Last year she was sick and before that you two would have been three or four, and I _think_ she was in trouble and not allowed to come to the party. Is that right?"

"I don't remember… But I haven't met her I don't think."

"Well, did you know she's a mermaid?"

"Like her mom?"

Emma nodded, "Yes. King Triton's magic made its way into her so she is able to change with the water just like Cordelia. You like mermaids, don't you? That drawing you showed me was really, really good."

"Thank you…" Cameron looked off in thought. "Remy's really a real mermaid?"

Emma smirked, "She is…" She stared at Cameron a moment as she turned to face her completely, "I need you to pinkie swear that you're not gonna even think about running away until everyone leaves." She stuck her pinkie out.

Cameron wrapped her pinkie around the older woman's, "Okay, I swear."

"Good girl." Emma stood, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe Holly and her kitchen staff are making chocolate cake, and Regina is nowhere to be found."

Cameron smiled up to her father's best friend and her confidante, "She's gonna find out…"

Emma chuckled, "I have no doubt, but I will have chocolate cake in my tummy and all will be good."

**AN: I will post the next chapter soon!**

**As you can tell, the kids—mainly Cameron****—**have taken over the Epilogue of the story. The next chapter will explain who Olive and Walker are, and the chapter after that will give more incite to Remy.

**Hope you enjoyed. Please read and review!**

**As I said at the top I have already received reviews for this chapter when it was posted over on "The Games." I have copied and pasted them here:**

**Once Upon a CBI NYPD Time: **Ahh wow, cool start to the Epilogue :) I love how there are like so many kids running around the castle, its crazy (crazy in a good way, lol ) Can't wait for the next part. Love this story & your writing... It' really good. After this story finishes, do you have any more fics your gonna write? :)

**KooshGID: **haha love the House easter eggs :) also the nickname Ditto is awesome.

**barbtulley: **an old boss of Allison's…. lol. I love the kids. can't wait to meet the rest.

**gnurd: **I'm sorry, but weren't the past few chapters epilogue? I liked your story, but the most epilogue you need is the two main characters getting married. Don't introduce a bunch of characters just to see secondary characters live happily ever after, it harms the story. It's okay to leave loose ends, really!

**Darkshadow-lord: **Great chapter! Looking forward to reading the next!

**zerodarkwolf: **i see what you did ther anD I LOVE IT

**LovaticFever: **I have a huge migraine now because I was trying to keep up with whose related to who. And damn, that must be one huge ass castle! 15 kids? not to mention their parents, and their parents' parents, and their parents' parents' parents!

**awhitefairytale: **I love this! I of course am trying to keep up with all of this! I'm excited to see who everyone is :)

**WhatHurtsMeMost: **OMG OMG OMGGGG! SO MANY KIDSSSS! I kinda hate Graham's kids ' and totally love Cameron! I'll check your tumblr for the cast list and family tree! :D hope to read more soon! xoxo *Paula

**Harley Quinn Davidson: **Love it and can not wait for more.

**ToTheYoungWhoWantToDie: **asdfghjkl; SO FUCKING PERFECT! MORE! :3


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I would like to apologize to everyone who received alerts yesterday. I didn't. And, thinking it was everyone and not just myself I took the new last chapter of "The Games" and chapter 1 of this Epilogue down. But, apparently everything had been feeding into my spam account, which is really unfortunate. I had 56 e-mails from fanfiction in there! I had no idea! So, I am very sorry and I have now done what fanfiction has told me to do, so there shouldn't be anymore issues!**

**Now, please enjoy!**

**Epilogue Part II:**

"Good gods my love, how long does it take to poof into something presentable?" Regina called to her lover as she looked at the clock before making her way to the nursery.

She felt rather than saw the blue smoke as she picked up David. She continued ignoring her wife as she brought the bright-eyed baby boy to the changing table.

Emma eyed her wife, "Are you serious? You're rushing me but you haven't even changed David and we have no idea if Bailee is ready?"

Regina turned to her wife with a smirk on her face, "Oh hush. You need to learn to not take so much time."

"I poofed! It took 4 seconds!"

"It used to take you 2…"

"Are you saying that I'm slowing down in my old age?"

Regina gave her a winning smile before shrugging, "I'm not saying a thing, my darling."

Emma crossed her arms with narrowed eyes, "Just remember that however old I am, you're older." She quickly poofed out of the room before she had to listen to the comeback she was sure was coming. She poofed into Bailee's room, "Bailee Cakes?"

"Yes, Momma?"

"You about ready?"

Bailee turned from her vanity to her mother, "Yes." She stared her mother down, "Are you in trouble?"

"Potentially." Emma nodded.

"Oh, great. What did you do this time?"

"I reminded Mommy that she's older than me." Emma bit her lip feeling the heat as her daughter put her hands on her hips.

"That's not polite." Bailee stared at the blonde.

"Well, Mommy wasn't being polite… I gave what I got."

"And somehow, you're always the one that's in trouble."

"Yes, that is because Mommy is in charge and we all know it."

"Except the times you are." Bailee reminded.

Emma guffawed once, "And when has that ever happened?"

"Well… The Games were your idea… So, basically after Mommy said yes to your proposal up to your wedding day, I think you were in charge."

Emma pursed her lips and nodded, "I guess I was…" She shook her head, "Will you go to Chip and Allison's and see if the four of them are ready?"

"Yes, Momma." Bailee poofed out of the room.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"I'm just saying Cameron, don't let the other werewolves get to you. They know that you're better than them."

Cameron looked over to Bailee as they walked down the hall. Cameron was the last to get ready—she had been drawing in her sketchbook and got distracted. She smiled at the other princess, "That's what your mom said."

"My mom is smart." Bailee nodded, "The other werewolves… they're like your grandma and their mom, but you are like your dad. You can change anytime you want. That's so cool. I say you own that."

Cameron smiled as she looked down at her blue dress, "Thanks… I'll try. You should own your magic."

"I do…" Bailee looked at her and found that the other princess was shaking her head, knowingly.

"You can use magic. You poof when you want to. But you're scared of your power. I can smell that on you. You're as unsure as anyone of the power you hold. I think you should find out. It could only lead to good things…"

"I don't know… Think about who my grandmother is…"

Cameron shrugged, "Miss Regina's magic in no way looks or smells like Cora's—that's what my daddy days. She's only ever used hers for good. You do too. Don't fear a part of you that doesn't exist."

"How do you know it doesn't?"

Cameron shrugged, "I believe it." She looked in her only friend's eyes as they walked into the throne room that had been converted to the greeting room for the next few days.

"There they are…" Emma's voice was heard, "There are our two little princesses. Let's get to greeting all these people." She clapped her hands and turned to the big double doors that led to the foyer of the castle.

Cameron and Bailee moved quickly into the room. Cameron took her place in front of her parents and in between her grandmothers and little brother, taking his hand from her mother, so Allison wouldn't have to worry about him. Bailee stood in front of her grandparents, next to her mothers. She offered her arms to Regina, who held David, silently letting her mother decide if she wanted to hand him over and greet, or hang on to him and invite people into her personal space to grin and coo and make faces at the baby. Regina, opted to hand the child over. The advisors and the other kids of the castle were not there to greet; only the technical royals of the original lands and the royals in power.

After Emma's gesture, the guards opened the doors and in came Thomas, Ella, Alexander, Patrick, Alexandra, Melody, Nancy, Edward and Walker.

~0~

Thomas and Ella adjusted quickly to their children's chosen life partners. They always thought they would have one daughter-in-law and one son-in-law, but they had no idea that it would come about in _this_ way. They threatened to overturn their court not unlike what had happened in the Shadow Lands if the court didn't sign in new marriage laws.

It seemed the every member of the court had a member of their sibling's spouse's side of the family that was gay, or knew someone that way gay. A few did admit—happily even—that their children, or grandchildren were gay and one particular court member came out of the closet then and there. It seemed the court had been patiently waiting for a reason to get the law written and signed. Thomas and Ella were more than happy to host the first gay wedding, the old gay court member and his now husband.

Alexandra and Melody wore rings on their fingers and called each other their wives, but they never seemed to actually make it down the isle in the ten years. It just wasn't a priority for the two. They were more focused on their own sets of adventures, ones that didn't involve near-death or anything the like, like the tales they'd heard from Patrick and Alexander and the other former candidates when they got going at parties. No, they preferred the simple, leisurely traveling in the warm, tropical areas.

Patrick and Alexander did marry; they were the fourth couple to wed. They went camping and fishing every so often much to Alexander's chagrin. They also went shopping for clothes or material for clothes much to Alexander's content. They didn't have children. They didn't really want them yet. They wanted to bask in the bubble they'd created of finally not caring what others thought of their relationship, or how others would react, or the fact that it wasn't princely or knightly. It was. They were two princes now and they were happy.

And Nancy and Edward hosted the Princes' wedding. After losing their best knight, they let life push them forward. They received and sent many a letter from the new Prince and were more than delighted for him. A few years after they came home from the Shadow Lands' Battle, they learned that they were pregnant. They now have a boy, Walker Patrick, his middle name coming from their best knight; he, like Cameron is 7 years old.

~0~

As the nine made their way into the room, Emma stood from her seat and quickly made her way down to Alexander and Patrick. Everyone knew she was excited, but as they watched the newer Shadow Queen skip down to her guests, they saw just how excited she was.

She hugged both of her former competitors tight, "Alexander." She smiled as her old friend hugged back.

"Emma." Alexander hugged her back.

"I've missed you." She kept her hold on the man before reaching out to touch Patrick's face, "Both of you. We need to make these trips more frequent." She said, finally pulling away.

"Indeed." Alexander said happily.

Patrick only smirked, "He's only agreeing to that so he won't have to go camping as often as he's become accustomed." Patrick looked up to see Regina making her way over to them, having said her hi-hellos to everyone else. "Hello, your majesty."

"Patrick." Regina took his proffered hand and let him kiss it before she looked to Alexander, "You've become accustomed to camping?" She smiled wide as the blonde prince rolled his eyes.

"Unfortunately." He shook his head. He then took a moment to look the original Shadow Queen over, "You've introduced color into your wardrobe…" He smiled.

It was Regina's turn to roll her eyes and shake her head, "Must we go through this conversation every time we meet?"

"Yes." Alexander nodded, "Aqua looks good on you." He added as he looked her over again.

Regina smiled, "Thank you, Alexander."

David took this opportunity to cry in his sister's arms. Bailee tried calming him down, but the baby was having none of it. He was hungry; he was hungry there and then and he was going to let everyone know.

Regina and Emma looked to each other, debating who was going to relieve their child from her brother, but as quickly as the crying came it stopped. They looked over to see that Bailee had magicked a bottle and given David to her grandfather, who, for some reason, had a way with the baby boy and could always make him get down to business when he ate and not play around and not actually eat when he got his bottles.

Bailee looked over to her mothers and smiled, knowing she had done good.

"Miss Bailee…" Alexander walked over to the girl and spun her around, "You look beautiful as always."

Bailee laughed, "Thank you Alexander!"

Alexander made sure to not miss a single woman in the room and quickly made his way over to Snow and then to Allison and Cameron.

Patrick shook his head, "My husband… He loves a good dress on a lady." He scratched his brow.

Emma looked him over, "It seems he loves a good suit on a man, too…"

Patrick chuckled, "That he does…" the former knight looked around and noticed it before anyone else, "What's that?" he pointed.

On the other side of the room, a claret and buttercup swirled smoke started forming.

"Is that…?" Emma asked as she glanced to her wife a moment, who was smirking.

"It is. They've let her take the reigns, so to speak." Regina chuckled.

As the smoke faded, it revealed Genie, Calliope and Amelia.

~0~

Genie and Calliope were living what felt to be a life of luxury. Amelia was strong and powerful not unlike her parents. They were still learning her powers, and some seemed to develop overnight. At this point, could do everything her father could, and she had her mother's beauty. Genie, on more than one occasion, "joked" about keeping her in her room until he died, so he wouldn't have to see his little girl become the strong, powerful woman that dated boys and/or girls that would never be good enough. Needless to say, he stepped into his full-time father role easily.

~0~

Cameron and Bailee both ran from their spots next to the thrones, "Amelia! Amelia!" They both said happily.

~0~

Amelia, on these nights she was locked up in her room for doing some magic she wasn't supposed to, visited the castle. The 17-year-old knew her parents knew where she would run off to, but they never punished her further or said a thing regarding her departures. She loved being around the kids, teaching Bailee, the only other magical child, new spells and tricks. She liked talking with Grace (even though she was five years her junior and didn't understand first-hand all the problems that happened in those 5 years, she was wise beyond her years and generally helped when she could). Really, Amelia just didn't like staying in her cottage on Olympus all the time and she needed to breathe. So, she would come to the castle for that.

~0~

"Hey girls!" Amelia smiled to the two princesses and hugged them when they got to her.

Calliope simply raised a brow as she moved passed her daughter, squeezing either princess's shoulder before moving to the rest of the royals in the room, "We're early; I hope you don't mind…"

Regina moved to the woman that she hadn't been allowed to meet until after she was married, "Calliope! Of course we don't mind!" She hugged the woman tight, and kissed her cheek as she pulled away, "We're just happy everyone could make it." She hugged Genie and kissed his cheek before moving to Amelia, "Hello, beautiful." She kissed the girl's cheek as well.

"Hello, Regina." Amelia smiled wide.

Bailee and Cameron pulled Amelia from the group, "Mommy, we're gonna go to the garden, 'kay?" Bailee called over her shoulder.

"Alright, little girl." Regina shook her head, "Bailee's been working on a trick Amelia taught her a few weeks—" Regina realized that the parents probably didn't know that Amelia stopped by.

Calliope smirked, "Regina dear, we know she comes here. It's fine."

"Good. We just…"

Calliope nodded, "I know full well what you 'just…' You just didn't want to lose her trust by telling us that she was here and have her wind up somewhere else that wasn't your castle and far more dangerous…"

Emma widened her eyes a bit and nodded. She came over to them during the start of Calliope's speech and kissed Genie's cheek, and now that Calliope was done, she leaned in and kissed her cheek in greeting as well, "That's actually exactly what we 'just…'"

Calliope squeezed Emma's hand and gave her a smile.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"Good gods, here we go…" Emma muttered the next afternoon as she magicked the clothes her wife had picked out for her.

"You're already annoyed?" Regina moved out of the bathroom, she chose to get ready the human way this day.

"What? Annoyed? Who said anything about annoyed?"

"Emma…" Regina crossed her arms.

Emma turned and looked to the brunette, "What?"

"I know you want it to be two days from now, and I know that you want everyone to just be here already, but this isn't a competition in which everyone needs to arrive on the same day. This is a big family reunion in which people are arriving on different days, and you need to be a big girl and greet everyone on the different days until they've all arrived…"

Emma pursed her lips, hiding a smile at her wife's antics as she slowly made her way over the brunette, nodding along, "I know that, my love."

"Then why must we always have this kind of conversation?" Regina leaned into the blonde as she felt hands on her hips.

"Because… It secretly makes you think I'm adorable in my childish way and it makes you love me more." Emma grinned and pursed her lips, giving her wife her best impression of a duck, waiting for a kiss.

"It does make love you more…" Regina leaned in and pecked the blonde. "And you are so childish…" She wrapped her arms around Emma's neck and leaned in, kissing her again.

"I love you, too." Emma smirked as she pulled from the woman's lips, but kept her hold on her wife. She let her hands wander to one of her favorite parts of Regina's anatomy and squeezed. And when Regina raised a brow of warning, Emma only waggled her eyebrows and started swaying.

"Darling, there is no time for that." Regina tried to pull from her, but ultimately fell into Emma's clutches as lips found that one spot on her neck that always made her bend to her wife's will.

"There's plenty of time, Regina…" Emma smirked, kissing down her neck to her collarbone.

"Mommy? Momma? Chip and Allison are already in the… Oh…" Bailee had poofed into her parents' room and rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips when she saw the two of them before her, "A child my age, your own child for that matter, should not be immune to seeing you both make out… But that's how often you do it!"

Emma pulled from Regina and started laughing.

"Momma, that is not the reaction you should be giving me right now." Bailee tapped her foot.

Emma then jumped to submission and clasped her hands together, looking down ashamed; Regina had already gotten into position. "Sorry, Bailee…" they said together.

Bailee shook her head, "You need to hurry up and get ready. The first three carriages are making their way down the road now. Artie and Shrek and everyone will be here soon…" She moved to the door, "I'll change David then give him to Granddad while you two change." She turned to them at the door, "Spit. Spot."

Emma and Regina glared as soon as Bailee was gone.

"Well clearly this is your fault." Regina said as she moved back into the bathroom.

"_My_ fault? Excuse me madam, I am not the one with the silk robe and the boobies out on display and bare legs running for miles while I take my time putting on my face."

"No, but you are the one with the boobies on display thanks to the coat you are wearing and the skin tight pants and the hair all down and flowy!"

Emma's jaw dropped and she followed her wife as if they were having a real argument, "Hey! My hair is always flowy!"

"Because you know I love it!" Regina practically yelled as she saw her wife's form in the mirror.

"I KNOW!" Emma did yell then knit her brows, "Why are we fighting about how good the other looks?"

Regina snapped her fingers, changing into her outfit before hanging her head, "Because we got in trouble…"

"Oh yeah…" Emma looked down as well, shaking her head shamefully. She took her wife's hand, "Who'd have thought that our daughter would be such a hardass…?"

"I don't know…" Regina squeezed the hand in her own, "Let's go before we get in more trouble."

~0~0~0~0~0~

The night that Artie liked to think of as the best night of his life led to one of Far, Far Away's biggest scandals since Artie had ended it with Guinevere. It led to a child made out of wedlock. Though, Artie was quick to ask Lyonors for her hand, and Lyonors was quick to say yes, both seemed to know that they weren't getting married merely to make the condemning public happy. They were getting married because they knew that they were supposed to be with each other. Borre came just three months after their marriage. He was 1 now.

~0~

"Emma!" Artie said as he looked from his 1-year-old that had started walking just weeks before the trip and now would not stop.

Emma smiled as she watched the new father kneel and pick the baby up after he fell on his tush.

"He seems to be non-stop!" Regina said as she walked down the stairs, Emma's hand in hers.

"Yes…" Lyonors knelt down and tried to scoop Borre up, only to have him toddle just out of reach. She stepped forward, this time successful with her scoop, "He is."

"All he does is go." Artie smiled as he leaned in to both Shadow Queens and kissed their cheeks, "You both look lovely. Time has only made you more beautiful."

Emma gave him a cheekily bashful grin, "Artie. You're so hunky now that you're married… It just flows out of you…" She turned to Lyonors, "I like you way better than Guinevere. Have I made it a point to tell you that?"

~0~0~0~0~0~

After getting Artie, Lyonors and Borre to their chamber, and Shrek, Fiona and the triplets to theirs, and the triplets finding Amelia—the only other person close their age, everything seemed to settle. Emma loved palling around with Shrek, Artie, Alexander and Patrick. The four men wouldn't appear like they would even get along, but they were a surprisingly close-knit group of men.

"Your Majesty!" A guard got her attention as she walked the four men to her den, what Regina called 'her poor excuse for masking her want of a saloon in the castle'—it also happened to be some of the adults' favorite spot in the castle because it was laid back.

Emma knit her brows, "Yes?"

"Another carriage just pulled up…"

"…Huh?" Emma didn't understand, "But everyone that was supposed to come, came today…"

"I-I realize that. That is why I came to get you…"

"…Right." She looked to the four of them, "I'll be back…"

"What if it's someone sinister?" Alexander asked.

Emma gave him a look and waved her hand, producing her axe.

"I think she's got it, love." Patrick patted his husband's shoulder.

Emma turned back to the guard, "Well, let's go."

They went to the front of the castle to the carriage that was getting closer on the newly paved road. It looked oddly familiar.

"What's going on?" A voice came beside her.

Emma jumped and looked. She slapped the arm of the owner of the voice, "Great-Grandfather!" She clutched her heart, "You have a way of sneaking up on people."

"It's the worst isn't it." This voice that came on the other side of Emma, made her jump higher than before.

She did the same scolding, hitting the voice's owner on the arm, "Aunt Maleficent!" She hissed.

"We were just curious…" This time it the voice was on the other side of her aunt.

Emma shouldn't have been fazed, but she was. She finally tilted her head to look at her friend and aunt by marriage, "Aurora…"

"What?" The Morpheus princess smiled.

Emma shook her head, "All three of you are much too curious. This is probably nothing. No one. Just some foreigner wanting to say hello."

"Yes, that is why you have your axe." Maleficent nodded. She waved her hand producing her staff that she finally got back from her castle in the Forbidden Mountain. "And why I have my staff."

"What is going on out here? Why do I see favored choices of weapons from two powerful beings?" Regina's voice filled the entrance.

"There's a carriage on its way." Emma pointed as it got to the gate of the castle.

"And we're just waiting for it to come and try to invade?"

Maleficent shrugged, "Yeah, I mean, it could be nothing…" She smirked as she looked to her niece.

"Could be something." Emma shrugged as well and spoke just as casually as her aunt.

"So, we're waiting?" Regina took her place between her wife and her great-grandfather.

"We're waiting."

As the carriage stopped, the door didn't wait for the driver to get down and open it. Ariel was out of the carriage and he was huffy, "No, Eric. I will not just!" He turned to look inside, "You know I can't be around him for very long. I can't imagine why you even tolerate him!"

Eric stepped out, "Ariel. He's your father. You love him. And he loves you."

"Yes, that's why he tried so desperately to keep me from seeing you. And to keep you out of the waters. To keep you from me." He sighed heavily, "You know that he and I have a very touchy relationship… I just don't understand how you possibly thought that joining Arely, Cordelia and Remy for the weekend was a good idea… I could have told you how it was going to end, but you insisted!"

Eric chuckled at his husband, "I did, and for that, I am sorry. I just thought you and your father were ready."

"Well, we're not." Ariel waved his hand, "And now you've had the driver take us here instead of our own castle. They'll think we've come to invade or something!" He saw that their driver had unloaded the carriage and turned to the entrance of the castle. "Friends!" He smiled.

Eric smiled as well, "We're sorry for the uh, early arrival, but plans changed, and we wanted to come as soon as possible."

Emma and Maleficent waved their weapons away, "That is perfectly alright!" Emma said, "I'm sure Grace will be happy you're here!" She smiled, welcoming the kings, "Come on in. We will have someone go prepare your quarters."

Regina hooked her arm with Ariel's, "Why have you come so early?"

Ariel rolled his eyes, "Eric thought that I would be able to live two nights with my father…"

Eric chuckled, "I didn't actually. It was merely an experiment to see how long you could last. He did way better than anyone thought. A full day and a half…"

Everyone in the group nodded, "That's not bad at all. Soon, you'll be living in the same place and it will be second nature for you to have natural conversation…" Maleficent said as everyone stared at her with wide eyes she gave them a look before she started speaking again, "What? I'm just speaking from personal experience… I have daddy-issues too…" She moved to her father and hugged his side.

Van Dyke smiled and nodded, "We still have things to work through, but things are on the up and up."

Emma shook her head at her great-grandfather and aunt before taking Eric's arm and stealing Ariel from Regina, "Come. The advisors and of course Ruby, and Genie and Calliope, the other royals and myself were just going to the den to relax for the evening."

"Ariel and Eric might want to say hello to the other people in the castle first…" Regina turned to a knight, "Someone go fetch Grace."

Emma gave her wife a look, "I'm sorry, I assumed they'd want to see their daughter and daughter-in law… Besides, most of the castle is in the den already or are making their way there. Face it, my love. The den is a happy, joyous place."

"Ladies, ladies!" Eric smiled that handsome smile he had, "There's enough of us to go around." He looked down the hall to see Grace, "Ah, there she is." He smiled as he walked over to her, "Hello, Beautiful."

Grace smiled and hugged him, "Hello, Eric." She then moved to Ariel, "Ariel."

"How is the best Shadow Queen that ever was?"

**AN: Thoughts and feels? Please Read and Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Epilogue Part III:**

Emma and Bailee were walking down the hall to the throne room when they saw two of Graham and Ruby's wolves and Chip and Allison's oldest wolf in the hallway.

"You're so pretty in your dress, _Princess._" Grant laughed as he flicked one of Cameron's puffy little sleeves.

"I have to go to the throne room." Cameron said quietly.

"Yeah, you got to go meet and greet like the good little princess you are."

Just as Emma and Bailee were going to step into the conversation, Grace, Amelia and the ogre triplets walked out of an adjacent hall. But it seemed they weren't needed either.

Cameron glared hard. She knit her brows and soon, her wolf took over, "Leave. Me. Alone!" She shocked her cousins long enough to push passed them into the throne room.

"Okay. That was awesome…" Amelia said as she turned to the others she was with and they pointedly ignored the remaining werewolves. "Did you see her face morph? If I was a werewolf. That's the kind I'd want to be…" The half-genie said it loud enough for the two children to hear.

Grant glared at the oldest child in the Shadow Castle as she walked off with the others. Robin only nudged her brother, "Let's go outside." She said, trying to distract him. "We'll get Cameron next time.."

"Yeah." He nodded.

Emma and Bailee had continued their way down the hall at this point, "Hey, kids?" the blonde called before they got too far.

"Yes, Miss Emma?"

"I hope you don't mean that you'll hurt Cameron next time…" She said in a tone that told them she wasn't messing around and she expected everyone in the castle to get along.

"Of course, Miss Emma." They nodded before running off.

Bailee shook her head, "They lied."

"I know." Emma inhaled deeply as she took her daughter's hand and knelt down to her, "And I know it's not your responsibility—"

"I stop them when I'm around. But I'm not always around…" Bailee said, knowing what her mother was going to ask.

Emma smiled and stood back up, "You, my darling daughter, are all your mommy."

"Nah, I'm you too. Mommy wouldn't stand for what they do, but she wouldn't do I do to shut them up. You would."

Emma raised her brows as they walked into the throne room, "And what do you do?"

"I'm sure they'll tattle one day…" Bailee was not going to cop to anything until she had to. She, like her blonde mother when she got in trouble with her brunette mother, thought it better to beg forgiveness than ask for permission.

Bailee walked over to Cameron as soon as they got over to the rest of the group. Emma, walked over to her wife and kissed her cheek, "I love our daughter." She said with a smirk.

Regina raised her brows in question, "What did she do?"

"It's more what you did…"

This made the brunette knit her brows, "What did I do?"

"You gave her your heart." Emma kissed her cheek again.

Regina smiled and turned to look at their 9-year-old.

"Here, let me help with your bow, Cameron… I think some of your hair fell out when you wolfed out."

"Oh, thanks Bailee." Cameron sat on the top stair so Bailee had easier access to fix her half ponytail then waited a moment as the older princess went to work before whispering, "I don't know what came over me…"

Bailee smiled as she finished and sat next to her, "Anger, pride. They're not bad to have when you stick up for yourself. That's what my mommy told me once."

Emma made sure her voice was loud enough for Cameron to hear her, "Who's coming today?" She practically bellowed.

Regina turned from looking to the princesses interacting to her wife, "You know very well that it's only Arely, Cordelia and Remy today now that Ariel and Eric are already here."

Cameron looked up at the blonde queen as she spoke, "Oh, yes. How could I forget…" Emma smiled down at the little girl and gave her a wink.

Cameron smiled back as she remembered that Remy was the mermaid she'd never gotten to meet.

They heard the door open with a thud and a few cracks of very dull metal hitting each other.

"You two need to stop. Now!" Cordelia's voice was heard, strained and stern before she walked to the entryway to see the five waiting to greet them. She gave them all a beaming smile.

~0~

Arely and Cordelia had gone to his grandfather after Cordelia agreed to become human for a while. It was after a full week had come and gone of Arely showing her the simple things he enjoyed about being human that she had to ask before it drove her crazy. She had heard how humans made love, and she wanted him to make love to her before she turned mermaid again. But as she sat him down, only wearing his shirt, knowing how desirable and irresistible she was, and asked why he wasn't making a move, he told her that he didn't want to make love to her until they were married, until they had a plan for living their life both in and out of the sea. She had asked him if he had actually thought about it; the only thing he did in response was lean over and pull a ring from his nightstand drawer.

Since then, Cordelia had gone to King Triton and asked him to make her a mermaid when she was in swimming water and able to keep her legs when she took baths and showers. She had found that she loved baths and showers. Triton agreed to this easily because he knew that it meant that she and his grandson were working things out with the tail versus the no tail.

They married soon after Chip and Allison and around the same time Allison discovered she was pregnant, Arely and Cordelia found out they were pregnant. They had their little girl, Remy. She is 7 now, and thanks to King Triton's magic, she inherited the same ability as her mother.

~0~

"Oh, come now, love. We're right in the middle of the big fight scene of the story." Arely's voice was heard as he walked over to his wife and looked in the room as well, a big smile gracing his features.

"Yeah momma!" A third voice was heard. Remy ran at her father with her sword and lightly tapped his leg—she'd gotten in trouble before lots of times for playing rough; the rules had been forced into her with timeouts. After tapping her father's leg, she somersaulted into the room, her back turned to the other people and her sword up, "I have to defend the good guys!" She started a good lunge with a swing of her sword.

Arely knew it time to stop and easily took hold of his daughter, scooping the 7-year-old up to whisper in her ear a moment, "To be continued. We're in the presence of greatness." He nodded his head toward the other end of the room.

As soon as Remy looked over she smiled, "Wow. We are. They're just like I remembered!" she whispered back.

"Me too." Arely put his daughter back down.

"Wow." She said again before she tried to push her bangs out of her eyes. She shoved her metal sword between her body and her belt next to the similarly dull metal dagger and shook her hair out so that her soft curls that just barely touched her shoulders would fall tame.

It was in this moment, as she looked over the many people before her that a baby started crying. She watched as a brunette that looked to be a little older than her, stood and made her way over to the women she looked so much like. She watched the brunette princess, Bailee, as she remembered her from the last party she had been able to attend, take the baby from Queen Regina's arms, let her grandparents hold onto her shoulder and poof away.

"Wow…" She said again.

As she looked over the remaining people at the other end of the room, her eyes fell to the other girl around her age; they settled on the youngest blonde and she gave a half smile. "Cameron." She breathed out.

She saw the other girl's already slightly perturbed and confused face with knit brows look to her father.

The other princess in the room was just as Remy remembered. They had been three when they first met. It was only briefly, before a nap; Cameron was sad because she spilled something on her pretty pink dress and Remy was whining because she wasn't done playing outside. She remembered this girl. She remembered her fondly.

Remy felt her father's hands nudge her forward, silently telling her to lead the three of them to the rulers of the Shadow Lands. She let herself be pushed forward a few steps and stared at the other little girl during her entire trek. But, when she reached everyone, she went to the big people first.

"Hello." She bowed to Emma and Regina then stepped up and took proffered hands, kissing them, "Thank you for having us." She moved to Allison and Chip, "And thank you for having us." She kissed Allison's hand and gave Chip as good a handshake as a seven-year-old girl could.

Then she moved to Cameron. She smiled a half smile as she took Cameron's hand and kissed it, "I'm Remy, the Caspian Princess."

"Miss Emma said you turn to a mermaid in the water…" Cameron started, obviously a little disappointed that she thought she'd been lied to, "But you don't have long hair or shells or shell necklaces or anything…" She looked over to Emma and back to the other girl, "You're not a real mermaid."

"I am so!" Remy's tone was light, as if confirming, not defending. She'd caught on to the let down in Cameron's tone, "Do you have a pool? I can show you…"

Cameron's face showed just how much she was still debating over the girl before her. She was nothing like she imagined. She was rowdy and loud and she liked to play fight. Play fighting was so silly. Only boys liked to play fight. And her hair really was awfully short to be a real mermaid. And the way she bowed instead of curtsied? That was just weird. But, she supposed, that she couldn't have everything she ever wanted. It was more than enough that Remy didn't seem like she was going to make her cry.

Cameron finally looked up to her parents, "Can I show her the pool?"

"Of course, darling." Chip smiled down to her, happy that she hadn't given up on the girl completely. He knew his daughter; he knew she wanted the perfect friend. He knew that in the time between her and Emma's talk and the moment she met Remy she'd built up the Caspian Princess to be everything she wanted in a friend, a girly, tea-partying, make-up playing, jewelry-wearing, fast-running, silly, serious, perfect friend. And Remy was obviously not most of those things. After watching them walk out of the room, he turned back to Chip, "Hello, Brother." He took the man's hand.

"Ah, finally giving into our broship, I see?"

"Come now, must we have this talk every time we meet?"

Arely chuckled, "I suppose we don't." he looked to everyone, "So, how is everyone?" He asked.

"Settling in." Emma said, "You were the last of your family to arrive."

"You're kidding? My fathers beat us? I thought my fathers stayed in the castle!" Arely laughed.

Cordelia nodded, "I did too."

Regina chuckled, "Well, they came straight here in the middle of the night. They caused enough worry of the guards to get my wife, and for her to get her axe."

Emma rolled her eyes in embarrassment nodding along, "Yes, then they got out of the carriage…"

"Oh gods. That must have been interesting. It had to have been just after they left the sea…"

Emma nodded, "It was."

~0~0~0~0~0~

"Woah, hey! Where's the fire?" Grace asked two of the kids running down the hall as she walked with Amelia and the ogre triplets. "Oh, hey Cameron." She smiled.

"Hi Gracie." Cameron said as she stopped the trek to the indoor pool.

"Hello." Remy smiled and bowed.

"Hello." Grace smiled at the other young girl, "You must be Remy?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, you are adorable." Amelia interrupted and looked to Grace, "She called you 'ma'am'."

Grace smiled, "Where are you going?"

"Swimming! Remy's a mermaid! But first, I gotta change!"

"Why are you going swimming so close to dinner? You only have about an hour…"

"Remy's a _mermaid_…." Cameron put her hands up exasperatedly trying to make the older girl understand how that was so much more important than dinner. Then she sighed giving a side-glance to the other princess, "Supposedly."

"No, I am." Remy smiled, "She's just not sure 'cause I don't wear shells or have long hair like my momma. But long hair gets in the way and shells are more for my aunts in the ocean that don't live on land ever…"

"Come on! Come on!" Cameron darted down the hall again, Remy's hand in hers. She had no time to waist, and she really, really hoped that Remy was a real mermaid.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Remy's tail was bright royal purple and lavender; her swim top matched courtesy of the royal seamstress. Cameron had never seen anything more beautiful. The sun from outside shown from the windowed wall and glimmered against her tail as the mermaid swam.

"Wow…" Cameron sat on the stairs in the pool water. "That's gonna be really fun to draw…" she mumbled to herself.

Remy swam over to her, not hearing her last comment, and smiled, "Believe me now?"

Cameron nodded, "Can I touch it?"

The Caspian Princess did her one better. She sat on the stairs next to her and put her tail in the girl's lap.

Cameron ran her fingers over the scales, "Wow…" she said again.

The door opened and all of her cousins, Hope, Faith and Mercy, and the other royal guest kid, Walker barged in with swimsuits on, ready to play in the pool.

"See! I told you I heard them say that Remy was here and she was going swimming!" Grant said as he made his way into the room, "Cool tail." He ignored his cousin and didn't mind his manners as he sat on the edge of the stairs and reached for Remy's fin to touch it.

"Don't touch her!" Cameron swiped his hand before he could feel, letting Remy move further into the pool.

"What are you gonna do princess? Tattle? Get your mom or dad?"

"If I was gonna tattle, I'd get _your_ mom and dad. Or grandmothers Red and Belle." Cameron rolled her eyes and stood, "Dinner's soon. I need to dry off and change." She glanced to Remy, "You probably should too… I mean, if you want to. Or, you can stay here with everyone else…"

"No, I'm done swimming." Remy pushed onto the edge of the pool, turned and sat. "Can I have a towel?"

Grant pulled the towel from Cameron's hand and gave it to Remy, "Here you go, princess. Are you sure you can't stay for the fun?" He was ever charming when he wanted to be.

Remy watched Cameron duck her head and walk towards the exit. She grabbed the towel from Grant and dried her tail until she could feel her legs. She stood up, with the towel around her and started out.

"What? Are you too good for us too?" A girl asked as she passed by three that looked alike.

"Yes." Remy nodded without hesitation. She ran after Allison but the girl was much too fast for her to catch up to her even if she wanted to. She did, in the process, almost knock a couple ladies down, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I was trying to catch up to Princess Cameron…" She looked up at the two women, one with curly, frizzy blonde hair, the other a tame auburn.

"That's quite all right, kid." Maleficent said as she looked at the girl. She pursed her lips as she smiled, giving the young girl a smirk, "My wife likes you, therefore I do too. You've got spunk, little one."

Remy raised her brows in question, "How so?"

Aurora smiled, "You didn't let the quints get to you like they do most people. They are all utterly charming and captivating like their parents, but they tend to not be nice to little Cameron." The Morpheus princess smiled wider, "That's why I like you. You see her."

Remy tilted her head and looked up at her, "Are you the lady that can read people?"

"I am."

"I'm just the wife." Maleficent shrugged then turned to her wife. "This is how life is going to be for me from now on. I'm the seer's wife."

Remy smiled wide, "You're a powerful witch… Aren't you? That's what all the stories say…"

Maleficent looked down at the little princess. She liked this girl. She liked that this girl knew she was magical and tried to lift her spirits thinking Maleficent was saddened by being 'just the wife'. "Yes. I like you a lot." She smiled down at her. Even though she liked her, that didn't mean she knew how to act around kids—even the ones in the castle! "Run along." She waved the girl off.

Remy giggled before pushing between the two women and making her way down the hall again.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Remy hadn't seen Cameron since she tried to catch her up after they went swimming and ran into the seer and her magical witch wife. After Cameron had taken off, Remy found her mom and they got ready for dinner. She wore her best shirt, vest, pants and boots, and she even put on the shell choker that her aunts gave her for her just before they had to leave from their visit to the sea. She finished her outfit with the extremely dull metal sword and dagger her father gave her to play with to hone her sword wielding skills with the year before.

When she and her mother finally found her father, dinner was starting.

"Hello everyone." Regina smiled as she stood, "We've missed you all so much. I'm glad we could have everyone back and celebrate the simple joy of being together."

The crowd started clapping and humming and nodding along in agreement.

"As you might recall, I love a good arranging of tables." Everyone laughed before letting Regina continue, "However, I have no assigned tables, I figured we could all mingle after we'd eaten."

Remy noticed that a lot of the kids were making their way to a table away from their parents.

~0~

Aurora grabbed her wife's arm as she stared at the little Caspian Princess.

"What, Briar Rose?" Maleficent asked her.

This, of course made Van Dyke, Emma, Regina and most of the adults around her nervous.

"Is it bad, Aurora?" Emma asked, hoping that she wasn't going to have to save or vanquish anything during this reunion.

Aurora finally took her eyes off of the Caspian Princess and turned to the people waiting for her information. She gave a half smile, "Let's just keep our attention on the Caspian Princess and the younger Shadow Princess."

Emma raised her brows and looked to Chip. "We're keeping an eye on Cameron? What the Hades is going to happen…?"

Chip shrugged, not thinking it anything dire by Aurora's tone, simply planted himself next to his best friend, and called the man he called brother over to their table.

~0~

Remy looked around for Cameron again, and finally found her slowly making her way over to a separate table after seeing her father try to encourage her to break from the adults like the rest of the kids. Remy smiled, pulled her hand out of her mother's and, after getting a 'you behave yourself,' she ran over to the blonde princess, "Your dress was red earlier…" She observed as she walked.

"I…" Cameron looked up, completely shocked that Remy hadn't stayed and become best friends with her cousins, "Yes…"

"Purple is very pretty on you, too." Remy offered the other girl her arm, putting on her best manners.

Cameron smiled a small smile and looked down, bashful, "Thank you."

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather sit at a different table than your cousins..."

Cameron's small smile grew as she nodded, "That sounds lovely."

"No offense, but I don't think I like them that much. At least not the ones that talked to me."

"They don't like me much…"

"They're idiots."

Cameron's jaw dropped, but delight was in her eyes, "That's a mean thing to say."

Remy chuckled, "It's the truth. Anybody that's mean to you…" She shook her head, "I don't understand it."

They then got to a vacant table next to Grace and the other big kids. Remy smiled at them before pulling a chair out for Cameron and sitting herself next to her.

Bailee then walked over, "Do you guys mind if I join you?" She smiled.

"Of course, Bailee." Cameron nodded.

Bailee had literally just planted herself, and opened her mouth to speak when she was interrupted.

"Hey!" Grant came over and stood behind Cameron and Remy, "How come you aren't at our table, Remy?"

Remy sighed as turned to him, "Because I don't want to be at your table."

"You want to hang out with _Princess_ instead? Why? She's so annoying." He flicked some of Cameron's curls, "And prissy and—"

Remy moved faster than anyone thought possible. She drew her sword, stood and placed the dull blade just under Grant's chin, and with her other hand, she had drawn her toy dagger and had the dull blade on the wrist of the hand that touched Cameron's hair, "My father, though a prince, has lived the life of a pirate. By trade he's an excellent swordsman that's not scared to play dirty. He taught me well, Sir. And, I swear to the gods in the skies if you touch her, hurt her, ever make her sad or cry again," She lowered the sword to his stomach, "I will slit you from navel to nose." She brought the sword back up to his chin.

Grant's eyes were wide and he was frozen with fear.

It took no time for the adults to react to what they saw happening at the Caspian and Shadow Princesses' table. The parents of the three involved with the taunting and the reaction thereof plus Emma made their way over quickly after looking at Aurora to make sure that was what the seer saw as she took in the Caspian Princess's aura.

"Remy Beauregard!" Cordelia scolded her as soon as saw that it was her daughter holding a sword to another child's throat.

Remy glared at the boy for two more beats before she lowered her toys and put them back in her belt.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Arely asked, "I know that I've told you that you're not to use those things to really fight…" He knelt down to his daughter.

Remy glared at the boy that had run to his mother's arms, "He was being mean. And I can tell it's not the first time! He's always mean. And I think one of those girls are too."

"Mean… to you?" Cordelia asked.

"No. To Cameron." She pointed to the girl that was with her mother and father at this point as well, surely telling them what happened.

"So you were defending her?"

Remy nodded.

"Why?" Arely asked, already thinking he knew the answer.

"Because I think I might just love her."

"How can you possibly love her? You just met her this afternoon…" Cordelia said, trying to hide an amused smile at her daughter's chivalry—just. like. her. father.

"You loved daddy after he kissed you."

Arely too tried to hold back his laughter, "Have you kissed her?"

"No, but she saw my tail."

"And that's the same?" Cordelia asked letting the smile grace her face.

"No… I just love her, okay?"

Emma was trying to get a bit of each child's story before asking the big kids at the table adjacent what exactly was said, but she was particularly drawn to this girl's recount. She smiled and patted the girl's shoulder, "It hits you like a thousand lightning bolts."

Remy looked up at Emma, "Yes… And I've been struck."

Emma glanced around the room over to Regina then back to the little mermaid, "Well, you held out longer than me before you said something."

Remy gave the Shadow Queen a half smile before turning to her parents, "Am I in trouble?"

Cordelia looked at her husband first, making sure he didn't respond sympathetically like he tended toward, before looking at her daughter, "What do you think?"

"I think that he needs to stop being mean." Remy glared over to the boy that was now milking his fear as his mother hugged him.

"Remy." Cordelia crossed her arms and held firm.

Remy looked at the ground, "I think I'm in trouble." She turned from her parents and, with a hung head, walked over to Cameron. She tapped the girl's shoulder, causing her to turn around.

Cameron immediately leaned forward, hugging her, "No one's ever done anything like that for me before…" She whispered.

Remy smiled and nodded, "I'll always do that for you." She whispered back, "I have to go back to my quarters now though, 'cause I'm in trouble."

Cameron knit her brows as she pulled from the Caspian Princess, "But you didn't do anything bad. You defended me."

"I'm not supposed to use my toy weapons as real weapons…" She hung her head.

"Oh…" Cameron's head fell as well.

"Princess Cameron?" Remy cautiously looked back up at the other little princess.

"Yes?"

The Caspian Princess took off her shell necklace and gave it to the younger Shadow Princess, "I love you." She leaned in quickly and pecked Cameron's cheek before darting back to her parents, who escorted her back to their quarters.

**AN: "I will slit you from navel to nose" is from 'Ever After.' It's one of my favorite parts, and I figured since I didn't really get to show Danielle off too much in 'The Games' that I could tip my hat to the movie.**

**Thoughts and feels? Read and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Epilogue IV:**

The next morning Cameron walked down seemingly empty corridors with the shell necklace around her neck and her sketchbook and bag of utensils in her hands. There was no one to pass by in the halls, though that could have been because most of the adults all had a little too much to drink the night before—at least that's what her mom said.

She smiled at the guard, someone to finally wave at and tell her that she wasn't in an empty part of the ever-expanding castle. She walked past him and turned down one more hall before she finally found the door she'd been looking for.

She knocked.

It took a few minutes, but Arely came to the door and looked down at her with a wary look, trying to hide a smile. "Princess? Is there something I can do for you?"

Cameron looked up at him. She huffed a sigh and nodded, "Yes, Prince Arely, there is." She took a breath, "I know that Remy isn't supposed to use her toys as real weapons, but she was defending me. I would very much like it if she could not be in trouble anymore and I would like to play with her if that's all right?"

Arely couldn't help the smile that grew on his face. This little girl was determined. He relented, "I think it's fine to lift her punishment." He said and gestured her in, "Would you like to play with her now?"

"Yes, please." Cameron stepped in the quarters and waited.

He smiled at the girl again before gesturing for her to follow him, "Come on. She's back here." He knocked on his daughter's bedroom door, "Remy?"

"Yes, Daddy?" The tone was sad and pitiful.

"You have a guest." He opened the door, poking his head in with a smile before he let Cameron in and left them alone.

Remy looked up from her domino chain and saw her ladylove, "Cameron!" She stood, knocking the last domino she set up down, causing the chain reaction.

Cameron watched the chain run all around the room in awe, "That was really neat."

Remy shrugged, "It's just dominos…" She stared at Cameron's neck, "You're wearing the necklace…" A happy smile graced her face.

Cameron smiled at her new friend's modesty and the fact that she noticed the necklace right away, "Your dad said you weren't in trouble anymore…"

"I'm not?"

"That's what he said." Cameron smiled, "I supposed to greet the rest of the guests today. Would you like to play after?"

Remy smiled, "Cameron, I will play with you until you get bored of me. And even then I'll still want to…"

Cameron didn't know what to say. She did feel the smile on her face and eventually words did come out of her mouth, "I don't think I'll ever get tired of you…"

Remy's smile widened to a grin, "Can I come with you? To greet people? I don't know why, but I just don't want to not be around you…"

Cameron swallowed and looked around shyly. Finally, she leaned in and kissed Remy's cheek, "I think it's because you love me. I like being loved." She smiled, "I think I might just love you right back." She turned, heading for the door, "Come on." She offered her hand.

Remy put her hand against her cheek and reached out with the other, taking the blonde's proffered hand, drunkenly following the other princess out of the room. She took notice that Cameron's other hand was full, but she didn't ask what it was. The way the blonde was holding it, it seemed special.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Bailee was staring out the window, breathless with a wild anticipation. It was then she saw the carriage come through the gate onto the land and watched it park in front of the castle, "They're here!" She cried as she flitted over to the rest of the royals, "They're here." She smiled up to her mothers. Emma smirked at her daughter's excitement.

Remy turned to Cameron, "Who is it?"

"The French. King Henry, Queen Danielle. Princess Olive… Bailee and Princess Olive are best friends. They write letters and are always together when they're in the same place." The younger Shadow Princess answered.

"Do they love each other?" Remy asked before leaning in, taking Cameron's hand and whispering, "Like we do?"

Cameron beamed as she thought about it, "I don't think so. Maybe they are and just don't know it." She shrugged, "I think they're just best friends. Like my dad and Emma. Or like my dad and your dad…"

"Oh." Remy understood what Cameron was saying.

"Olive!" Bailee exclaimed as she ran down the stairs passed Henry and Danielle and even Gustave to greet her friend.

~0~

Henry and Danielle had been trying for a baby since before the Battle was held in the Shadow Lands. It wasn't until after they got back to their castle, after they heard that the Shadow Queens were already expecting, and after they tried to not be jealous that the gods smiled on them and gave them Olive. Olive is 8 now.

She is the apple of everyone's eye in France. Including Gustave. Gustave, when not visiting Kendall and Gwyneth, acts as the princess's personal guard. Though, he tended toward the former more often than not.

~0~

"Hi Bailee!" Olive smiled as she hugged her friend.

"Gustave." Regina and Emma walked down together, hand in hand.

Emma still gave Gustave a hard time for thinking he was going to win the competition and putting his tongue in her wife's ear. She made sure to always keep an eye on him. Though during a random visit of Gustave's to the castle, Emma's keeping an eye on him led to an eye_ful _of Gustave, Kendall and Gwyneth in the kitchen. It was gross. And that led to a stern talking to and warnings of children running rampant in the castle.

Emma hugged the man before greeting Henry and Danielle. "Hello, Henry. Danielle." She smiled.

"Momma!" Bailee's voice stopped any conversation about to happen.

"Yes, Bailee Cakes?"

"We're going to go to the library. Olive hasn't read 'The Life and Times of Willow Rosenberg'!"

Emma put a hand up, "Alright…" she shook her head as she turned back to them, "They really enjoy each other." She laughed.

Danielle nodded, "This reunion is all we've heard about for a month…" She smiled as she noticed two women lurking in a doorway. She then saw Gustave not-so-subtly excuse himself and make his way over to them and officially out of the throne room. "I assume one of them is her?"

Emma turned from watching the knight leave, "Her who?"

"The girl he always comes to see here?" Danielle asked, "It would be nice to put a face to… Well, not a name, but I guess more of a Queen's hunch?" She smiled.

Emma looked to Regina and back to Danielle, "Uh… yeah… Gustave is uh…"

Regina placed her hands on her wife's shoulders, "Gustave is a complex man. More complex than you might think…"

Henry knit his brows, "You mean to tell me he's gay? That's hardly complex. I say congratulations."

Emma shook her head, "Oh, Henry, if only it were that simple…"

"Gustave has two reasons for coming here to visit." Regina tried.

Danielle jumped in excitement, "A child?"

Emma shook her head hard and vigorous this time, "No."

"Well… Now, I'm confused. Really confused. I thought I hit it on the head with the gay…" Henry wiped his face and looked up in thought, "Will you just tell us what he comes here for?"

Regina looked off to the side, "It seems that our good knight comes to visit our cook, Gwyneth."

Emma swallowed and took her wife's hand, "And our other cook, Kendall."

Danielle knit her brows, "So… he's playing them both?"

Emma laughed, "_I_ would definitely say that. Ow-fff!" the Shadow Queen fell forward when her wife elbowed her.

It was time for Chip and Allison to come interrupt, "See, he comes here to see both Gwyneth and Kendall…" Chip started.

"At the same time." Allison added, "The three of them are kind of a couple." She knit her brows and looked to the other Shadow Queens.

"That's actually… that's exactly what it is… He's in a committed relationship with two women." Regina said.

Danielle looked off to the side, "Hm." She shrugged.

"That's all you've to say, Danielle? 'Hm'?" Henry looked at her.

"Henry, what would you like me to say? Kudos? That's an abomination in the eyes of the one God? Not everyone believes in the one God. You and I certainly don't." Danielle shrugged again, "To each their own. That's what I believe."

Remy turned to Cameron, "How can three people be a couple? A couple means two…"

Cameron raised her hands and scrunched her shoulders, "I have no idea…"

"I think I would like to say here and now that I don't want to have a third person in our relationship."

"Here, here." Cameron nodded. Remy took this opportunity to lean in and kiss her cheek again, which caused Cameron to blush and beam and even bubble up with a giggle to show her happiness.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"So there are no hard feelings?" Cordelia asked Ruby as they walked down a hall.

"Absolutely not!" Ruby's tone was serious, "The Grant-sometimes-Robin-Cameron thing has been going on for a while. None of us know how to make it stop. We keep them apart as much as possible, but that only seems to make it worse…" She shook her head, "I am such a terrible mother… I was not cut out for this lifestyle. I mean, one day, I'm waitressing and bartending, the next I'm in a relationship with a Shadow Advisor, the next I'm married, have a long lost sister and quints…"

Cordelia gave her a look, "I know exactly how you feel."

Ruby knit her brows, "You have quints?" she deadpanned.

Cordelia laughed, "I know the fish out of water feeling—pun intended."

It was Ruby's turn to laugh, "Oh, a pun! We love a good pun around here…" She shook her head and got back on the subject, "Listen… I think that the rest of your stay, Remy should be allowed her toys and should be around Cameron as much as she wants—and Cameron will allow. And if Grant tries any of his usual stunts and Remy stops him… I really think it would be best for all the kids. Grant will get taken down a peg, Allison will get taken up and Remy…" Ruby shrugged, "She gets to look good in front of her girlfriend…"

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "Can you believe that? I can't believe she yelled it out for everyone to hear… She thinks she's in love." The mermaid couldn't help but smile at her daughter despite her words.

"I think she's adorable. And she knows what she wants…" Ruby smiled. She stopped as she glanced into the throne room, "And it looks like nothing is going to stop her from getting what or being with whom she wants…" She nodded into the room.

Cordelia turned and watched her daughter give Cameron a peck on the cheek. She placed a hand over her heart, "My little girl…" She smiled, "She is growing up too fast…"

Ruby nodded, "It doesn't slow down. Ever."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Dunstan and his family arrived later that day. "Hello, all!" He smiled as he and his wife made their way into the greeting room, "How has everyone been?"

Emma and Regina both made their way quickly down the steps, followed by Chip and Allison to give the Prince a hug.

~0~

Dunstan and Esmeralda had an interesting life. They would live a gypsy life for a couple months at a time before Esmeralda decided it time to spend time at home. Esmeralda was truly happy for the first time in her life. She married a man that tried for her, everyday he tried to please her and live the life she'd wanted. She could see the wonder and delight in the places they would go fade from her husband's eyes though; that was when she would suggest a month in the castle. He would only hug her and nod, almost thanking her, but not coming right out to say it. They would go home and spend time with his parents and grandparents. His parents regretted drawing the short straw to stay behind in the kingdom during the Battle Royale; though his mother, Rebecca thanked the gods each and everyday that she didn't have to be the worried mother that she knew she would have been had they gone.

They'd yet to have children, but were beginning to talk.

~0~

"Marriage has done you well, Dunstan." Emma gave Esmeralda a pointed look, "You've done well." She gave the credit to Dunstan's coming to be his real person to his wife.

Esmeralda smiled, "I've done nothing…" She saw her goat about to jump in excitement, "Djali, don't you dare jump." She gave him a warning look.

Emma raised her brows, "Esmeralda, I too am a married woman. I know that to be a bold-faced lie. You've done well."

"I've merely taken him out of his shell. That's all."

Regina leaned into the conversation after greeting Dunstan with a kiss to his cheek, "That, dear, is everything." She moved on to the other four people coming to visit, "Tristan, Yvaine." She smiled and gave the King and Queen of Stormhold each a hug and a kiss to the cheek. Then she moved to Dunstan's still young parents, "Jesse. Rebecca, thank you so much for coming."

"Thank you for having us." Rebecca smiled wide.

"Esmeralda has really pretty eyes…" Cameron whispered to Remy who was staring at Djali, "They're like yours but a little darker."

"They are pretty." Remy looked from the goat up to the goat's owner, but her eyes landed right back on the goat. "I like that goat."

Cameron turned to Remy and giggled when she saw the Caspian Princess staring the goat down.

As soon as the goat felt her eyes and trotted close enough to Remy, she was up and making to pet him, "Why do you suppose Esmeralda always has him with her?" She asked as she scratched the goat under his chin. Djali was just happy to get attention.

Cameron stood hesitantly, "I don't know." She backed up a step.

Remy laughed, "He's not going to hurt you… Have you ever even seen a goat before?"

Cameron crossed her arms and turned from the other princess defiantly, "Of course I have!"

"Come here. He's cute. He just wants to be pet."

"Goats don't like me much…"

"Why?"

"I think they sense my wolf."

Djali's ears perked and he stared at the Shadow Princess.

Remy looked between the goat and princess a couple times.

Esmeralda took this opportunity to step in, "Djali, you know she's not a normal wolf. She's not going to eat you. She's nice. She'll pet you…" Esmeralda stuck her hand out for Cameron to take. "He's going to be suspicious of you for a few minutes, so stay where he can see you. He really likes to be scratched right behind the ears." She showed the little girl.

Cameron cautiously stepped forward and placed her hand on Djali's head. She smiled when he didn't make to run away and quickly started petting him and scratching behind his ears. "Hello, Djali."

"Thank you." Remy smiled at the Stormhold princess.

"Yes, thank you!" Cameron turned back to pet the goat more.

Esmeralda smiled, "You're welcome."

"Your eyes are very pretty." Remy stared at the woman.

Esmeralda smiled, "Thank you. Yours are too."

"Cameron's are prettiest." Remy smiled back to the other little princess.

"My eyes are hazel…" Cameron shrugged, "Yours and Esmeralda's are really bright and pretty."

"Yours are still prettiest."

"Why? They're not bright."

"They belong to you. That makes them prettiest." Remy said simply.

Esmeralda raised her brows and turned to her husband who had come to check on the three girls and the goat. She hugged her husband and whispered in her ear, "How adorable are they, Dunstan?"

~0~0~0~0~0~

After a couple of days into everyone's stay at the Shadow Castle, all of the men and Ruby, Emma and Gustave's girls seemed to gather in the den in the late afternoon. Most of them were sitting on the couch swapping stories, shooting pool, throwing darts, playing ping-pong or foosball. But Emma, Dunstan, Artie, Chip and Arely were playing poker.

Arely stared at Chip for a long while.

Chip, having felt the stare, finally looked back at his friend. "You all right there, brother? You know I'm going to beat you either way…"

Arely cocked his head, "How would you feel if we were in fact some form of brother?"

"Beg pardon?" Chip raised his brow.

"I'm just saying that it seems our girls are quite the smitten kittens. What if, years down the line, they decide to get married, thus we become related?"

"I'd say that your daughter has treated my daughter decently which is better than some of her cousins can do… And as long as Remy continued doing so, then they go off into the sunset with my blessing."

Arely spoke in a tone that told everyone where he was going to go, "You'd actually enjoy being my brother?"

Chip threw his cards down, "Here we go…"

Emma put her hands up, "Before you get into the whole, 'Chip hated Arely' thing, can I just say that your girls together are just… They are going to have the sweetest romance ever."

Artie and Dunstan looked to each other then nodded.

"They are adorable." Chip admitted.

"No!" Emma then conceded, "Well, yes, but I didn't meant 'sweet' as in 'cute,' I meant 'sweet' as in…" She put her hands out and stared at them as she crashed them together, "You can just tell that they are going to be passionate and have fights and probably break up once or twice because they are so young…" She was really getting into it, "What? Was that too much for you two to think about?"

Chip stared at his friend a moment, "No… Not at all. Say… When do you think Bailee's gonna find her first partner, go on a first date…? Have a first kiss?"

Emma put her hands to her ears and 'lalala'd until she saw Chip's mouth stop moving. She then took her hands down, "So it was too much to think about…"

~0~0~0~0~0~

All the women in the castle had gathered around the biggest fire pit that lined the courtyard and set into similar conversation.

"So…" Allison swirled her wine in her glass as she sat next to Cordelia, "It seems your daughter and my daughter are in love."

Cordelia laughed a bit, "So they are."

Allison nodded. They were quiet for a moment, "They are so…" The newest Shadow Queen sighed.

"They are." Cordelia nodded.

"I like your daughter." Aurora paused her trek to her wife, who was talking with the female royals of Stormhold, and looked at Cordelia, "Phyl does too. She's spunky." She then continued walking to her spot.

Cordelia knit her brows, "She didn't act like that before the mean man, right?"

"I don't believe so, but I honestly have no clue." Allison said.

Regina took this opportunity to sit with them both, "No. She didn't. It was all Rumple and my mother that did that to her." She glanced over to Maleficent and Aurora, "But Maleficent is still so irrevocably in love with her… They are who Emma and I aspire to."

"You don't aspire to your in-laws?" Snow took a seat next to Regina.

Most of the other women had found a seat and settled, having conversations of their own.

"We do… in ways…" She nodded, "But between the challenges you and Charming have had to face and the challenges those two have… We'd like to aspire to you and Charming first and surpass that by aspiring to Maleficent and Aurora."

"They do adore each other." Red said as she and Belle sat down next.

"The rumors alone of what they've been through…" Nancy sat down with Danielle and Delaney.

Delaney nodded along, "I can't even imagine."

"Speaking of going through things…" Snow turned to Allison, "How is Cameron doing this week, now that more kids have been around?" She was trying to hint at Remy, not knowing that's where the conversation started.

Allison smirked and shook her head, "If you're trying to ask about Remy's person, you're talking to the wrong mommy." She glanced to Cordelia.

Belle smiled, "I'm sorry, but your daughter," She pointed to Cordelia, "And my granddaughter together are probably the cutest thing since Chip was small…" She shook her head and pouted her lip at the cuteness, "They call each other their girlfriends, and apparently they're going to get married as soon as they turn legal age."

Red chuckled at her wife, "Lavender is going to be the main flower at the wedding because of Remy's tail…" When she got all the looks she shrugged, "What? I eavesdropped… I couldn't help it!"

"This might be more serious than I thought…" Allison said before looking to Cordelia who only nodded before taking a sip of her wine.

"Well, honey, if makes you feel better, Mulan and my husbands picked us up from our native countries and brought us here and married us. Well, mine married me. Mulan is woman, hear her roar." Tiana finally put herself into the conversation.

"That's true… Sort of." Mulan pursed her lips. She looked at the ground more than anything else, "My people ran me out of my country. I tried to overtake Killian and steal his ship."

Most of the women had intrigued smirks on their faces as they waited for more.

"We just… there was more chemistry than hostility…" Mulan trailed off.

"Mhmm…." Tiana shook her head, "They were practically glued together when I first met them."

"They were practically glued together when I first met them… a year and some later." Rapunzel chuckled.

~0~0~0~0~0~

All of the kids except for baby David, who was napping, were getting as much playtime as they could before the sun set.

Bailee and Olive spent most of the afternoon in one of the tree houses reading. Olive reading "The Live and Times of Willow Rosenberg," Bailee reading the sequel but more partner novel, "The Life and Times of Tara McClay."

Walker played with the quints and Jefferson's younger girls. The smaller kids, Neal, Liam, Borre stayed in sight of their nannies and babysitters. The big kids, the five kids in the double digits, were off in the hedge maze doing things that big kids did.

And Remy and Cameron were playing house in the tree house adjacent to Bailee and Olive. Olive couldn't help but get distracted with the two.

"Do you really think they're in love?"

Bailee shrugged, "I think they think they are…"

"Is there a difference between thinking it and just being it?"

This made the Shadow Princess think, "I guess not… Not in the broad sense."

"It just baffles me that kids, younger than us—we're young kids, too, Bailee! We're not even preteens yet… But those two girls younger than us have already found love."

Bailee nodded, "It is baffling, I guess." She looked back over to them. She watched Cameron pour Remy some pretend tea and she saw them look at each other, "But I think they really love each other. I don't think people can look at each other like that unless they are really in love…"

Olive sighed, "I guess…"

~0~0~0~0~0~

"Dunstan, I'm not going to lie to you, friend… I thought your parents dead when we first met." Arely said the round after he lost all his chips.

"What?" Dunstan looked back to the man.

"I did. I really did. I mean, your grandparents never spoke of them, you never spoke of them. I assumed they died and that's why they were never talked about…"

Dunstan shook his head, "No… my father and mother are still very much alive."

"Yes, I know…" Arely looked around.

Emma leaned over to Arely, "If it makes you feel better, I thought the same thing…"

Chip nodded along with Emma and shrugged when he received a look from Dunstan, "What? I did…"

"Me too." Artie said as he laid down his four Kings, winning the hand.

A lull fell over the people in the den. Finally though, Artie started talking, "Emma, can I ask you and Chip a question?"

"Sure…" and "Alright…" came from the Shadow leaders.

"How does this all work?"

"How does what all work?" Emma knit her brows.

"Running the Shadow Lands. Running what is in all actuality three countries… How does it work? Is it easier to run than say one of our countries?" Artie gestured to him and Arely and Dunstan, "Is it really equal responsibility? And why do you keep the other two castles standing if you all only live in the one?"

"Okay, Artie, my friend, that was more than one question…" Emma chuckled before sobering to answer, "I think it's far easier to run than running a kingdom alone with my wife. Yes, we debate and fight over issues and bring in his and my parents for help sometimes, but that's what it's all about. Agreement, considering all options. And I think we all like to debate and play devils advocate with each other. So, yes, in that sense, it's quite easy…"

Chip nodded along, "We keep the other castles so that every month, when we have open hearings, there is a place for them to be held. We're not going to make the representatives of villages by the shores take long trips to come to this castle; that's just not fair."

Tristan and Jesse had come over for this conversation. Tristan considered the little that the two Shadow Royals had provided, but knew how prosperous the new kingdom was, "Well… Where do I sign up?"

The table turned and looked at him.

Dunstan waited for the punch line as did his father. "Grandfather? Are you serious?"

Tristan smiled at his grandson, "You know… your grandmother and I watch you and Esmeralda go to these far off places, we watched you go into a real, life-threatening situation without batting an eye, and we miss that. We really do. We've been in the beginnings of talking about stepping down. I just want to know all my options."

Ariel and Eric walked over from the pool table as they heard Tristan talking, "Eric and I have started talking about stepping down. Unlike you, we're just getting old…" Ariel joked.

By the end of Ariel's statement, all the men and the few women that were in the den, were surrounding the table, sitting on barstools and extra chairs. Everyone except Van Dyke who had gone outside for a smoke.

Edward spoke up nex, "I know I probably speak for every father in the room when I say that I'd like to spend time with my child. He's growing so fast; he's going to be grown up and I'm not going to have really been there for him, not like I could be…"

"I understand that." Henry clapped Edward's shoulder, emphasizing how very well he knew the feeling.

Shrek took a long drink from his pint, "Well, unlike most everyone here, I married into the kingdom. I never wanted to be in charge of anybody. I mean, seriously… An ogre? For a king? I'm surprised my lands are still functioning."

Artie chuckled at his cousin before looking off in thought.

"Well, this is an uplifting conversation…" Emma looked to Artie, "Artie? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Artie started speaking, not realizing he was asking another question, "What if all the kingdoms were to follow in your footsteps?"

"Huh?" Emma asked.

"Beg pardon?" Chip spoke at the same time.

"What if all the kingdoms combined to form one land. Of the royals that are in place now and the representatives from the Battle Royale, what if there was a representative for each country that lived in this castle and went to the hearings that you spoke of before? What if we all ruled all of our lands together? All of the lands would either be prosperous or in deficit. There would be no 'better land' for our people to move to… Everyone would have the same freedoms and rights… And everyone would be represented."

Emma looked over to Chip as silence fell upon them once more.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Aurora stood up and looked out at the sky. She walked away from the gaggle of women, who all turned to Maleficent.

Maleficent tilted her head and watched her wife with a small smile a moment before Regina's cough caught her attention.

"Is everything alright?" Regina asked.

Maleficent nodded, "Just fine." When she still got looks of concern, she rolled her eyes, "She's fine, she's doing what she does when she's getting a big something… Be it a vision, feeling, I don't know what they are specifically. She'll come back when she's ready to tell us."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Van Dyke was sitting in a chair on the den's patio. He had a cigar lit and was entertaining himself with smoke rings before something big caught his attention. A change in the wind. It was about this same time that he saw his daughter-in-law move to the edge of the patio across the courtyard and look up at the sky.

He looked up at the moon and a smirk made its way onto his features, "Winds in the east. Mist coming in. Like something is brewing. About to begin. Can't put me finger on what lies in store. But I feel what's to happen, 'asn't 'appened before…" He stubbed his cigar out and stood, whistling an all too familiar tune as he made his way back into the castle.

**AN: Super easy quiz question: Van Dyke's little bit in these last two paragraphs… okay, the last paragraph. What movie did I take it from?**

**Please read and review. Thoughts and feels?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Epilogue V:**

Aurora made her way back to the gaggle and sat down next to Maleficent, cuddling her wife.

"Briar Rose?" Maleficent nudged her ladylove.

Aurora looked to the blonde and smiled, "All the kingdoms are going to join together."

"I'm sorry… what?" Nancy asked not thinking she heard the woman right.

Aurora nodded, "All the kingdoms are going to join together."

None of the women knew how to respond. Most though, the women that ran a kingdom, knew that they would welcome the change if it meant stepping down or getting help.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Maleficent chose to keep her mouth shut until she and her wife made it to their bed that night, "Briar Rose?"

"Yes, Phyllipina?"

"How is the joining of the kingdoms going to work if you and I don't actually live or help your parents run yours?"

"We offer to be the representatives of the Morpheus lands and start helping now."

"Why?" Maleficent was not about to voluntarily spend time with those two people she called 'the in-laws'.

"Would you rather them move into the castle?" Aurora deadpanned.

"…You've made your point, woman."

Aurora smirked as she got in bed; she walked on her knees over to her wife and pecked the blonde's nose, then her lips, "I love you."

"I love you, too." Maleficent smiled and kissed her Briar Rose back.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Cameron and Remy were weaving down the corridors the next day. They had nothing better to do, and walking just seemed like fun.

"What's that book you always carry around with you?" Remy finally had the courage to ask her girlfriend about her sketchbook.

Cameron looked down, "Oh, it's my sketchbook. I like to draw."

Remy eyed it, "Can I see?"

Cameron nodded, "…I guess…"

Remy sat against the wall of the hallway and Cameron sat next to her. She took her time and studied each picture, "Wow…" She said as she flipped through and saw a lot of portraits of the people in the castle, guards included. Then she got to a picture of a mermaid, then she saw another and another of the same girl, "Who is this mermaid?"

Cameron shrugged, "I don't know… I just drew her up."

"She's pretty. She looks a little like you…"

Cameron smiled, "I was gonna say the same thing, but that she looks like you. But that's not you…" She flipped to the back of her sketchbook, "That's you."

"Wow!" Remy touched the outline of her fin and turned to ask Cameron about it, but saw she was turned away from her with knit brows. "What?"

"Nothing… I've just… I can hear people even when they don't want to be heard, and I've been hearing things…"

"What things?"

"I think the kingdoms are going to join together… Is that even possible?"

"Would that mean that I would get to move here?"

Cameron shrugged, "I hope so."

~0~0~0~0~0~

When Remy and Cameron tried to tell the other kids in the castle, the quints made fun of them—one quint made fun of them, the rest didn't believe them, the ogre triplets seemed less than enthused and the other outside royal kids weren't sure they believed it to be true either. Olive needed concrete evidence, not super-hearing.

By the time dinner came around, Remy was about bouncing out of her seat. But she wasn't going to say anything until it was brought up in conversation. The thing about conversation is that it involves people talking. And the dining hall was completely and utterly silent. Awkwardly silent.

Finally, she decided to bite the bullet, "Daddy are we going to represent the Caspian lands and move here to join the kingdom with the Shadow Lands? Because I would really like that so I can spend more time with Cameron."

It was this single question that set off everyone in the room. Everyone was talking over each other, talking a mile a minute, talking angrily, talking happily, talking loudly.

~0~0~0~0~0~

As it turned out, each representative of the lands that came for the Battle Royale for Regina's hand, became the representative for their kingdom for the new leadership. Patrick, though married to Alexander, still represented the Southern Kingdom of the Enchanted Forest. Gustave, though not a royal, was given the honor to represent France.

The difference between most of the kingdoms and the Western and Northern kingdoms were that the leading royals moved back to their castles. The only empty castles were those of the former Western and Northern kingdoms.

Regina and Emma expanded the castle a little more, just so everyone had breathing room.

Grant stopped picking on his cousin so much, mainly because he was fearful of what Remy would be able to do.

Amelia turned 18 and was allowed to move to the Shadow Kingdom to become an advisor, to replace her father from when he quit those 10 years before. She was just happy to move off Olympus—not that she didn't enjoy it, she just wanted to be needed somewhere. And she was needed in the Shadow Lands.

With everyone else, bonds were formed throughout the castle and the lands. Overall surveys and polls after 'the big transition' as it was referred to, were all positive. It looked as though the lands were going to prosper.

As everything settled, Hook asked for another bout of vacation time to sail around another land he'd always enjoyed and wanted to show his fiancée. Regina and Emma saw no reason to not let them go enjoy themselves and soon Hook and Mulan were gone on a trip.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Regina sat down to bed one night after finally feeling like everything settled, "Did you ever imagine in your wildest dreams that this is where a Battle Royale would lead us?" Regina asked as she settled next to her wife. When all she got was a grunt in response, she knew the blonde was long gone. She shook her head and settled next to her only to receive a scream in her ear. She jumped up and stared at her wife, "Emma? Emma? Wake up…"

"Grandmother?"

"No, darling, it's me. It's Regina. Your wife…"

"Grandmother!" A smile graced Emma's sleeping face. "I've missed you so much."

Regina didn't have the heart to even try to wake her up at this point, not if she was dreaming about talking with Eva. She settled down once more, this time facing her wife and fell asleep.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"Emma. Emma!"

Emma turned to find no one. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to scream loudly, frantically. She grabbed her heart after realizing the person was not a threat and stared at the woman before her, "Grandmother?"

Eva smiled, "Hello, Emma."

"Grandmother!" Emma fell into the woman's hug, "I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too." Eva said into the hug, "Bailee is turning out to be a fine young woman."

Emma beamed, "We didn't do too bad with her. David is walking and talking now…"

"I know."

The blonde nodded, "Of course you do."

"Emma, we need to talk…"

Emma gave her grandmother a look, "Of course we do… What is it now? Did something happen? Did _they_ escape?!"

"No! No… Your lands are fine, darling granddaughter. The gods saw something greater in you than just protecting your lands…"

"What did they see?"

"They saw you protecting worlds. Realms. Your first test will be coming up soon. Hook and Mulan will return with it." She looked concerned, "Emma, you need to prepare for battle with this one. It's much bigger, smarter, faster, stronger than anything you've faced thus far." She gave her a half smile, "Everyone is going to join you. You're going to have to leave the kingdom to Grace, Bailee, Cameron, Remy and Amelia."

Emma gave her grandmother a hard stare, "You know, when Regina put Grace into power last time, it was a joke…" Her grandmother's stare didn't falter, so, finally relenting she nodded, "How long do I have?"

"A fortnight."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma jumped up, the dream surprising her. Regina was turned from her, snoring softly. She knew she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep that night, so, she magicked her axe from the wall and put it horizontally a few feet above her head. She jumped and grabbed hold, then began doing pull-ups.

Regina woke up to the grunts and huffs of her wife. She sat up and looked around before her eyes settled on the form doing pull-ups in the moonlight, "Emma? Darling, what are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep. Did I wake you?" Emma dropped from her axe and moved around to sit on the bed.

Regina wiped her eyes as she stared at her, "Okay, what in the Hades' is going on?" She sat up to give her wife a full stare down, "In our entire life together, you've never done pull-ups when you couldn't sleep. You've also never made that face."

"What face?"

"That face that I imagined you had when you thought you were going to die and never see me again."

Emma looked away, "I saw Grandmother Eva." She gave a half smile.

Regina nodded, "I know. You screamed in my ear then started talking to her."

Emma crossed her arms, "She scared me…"

Regina smiled, but sobered as she took her wife in, "Emma?"

"The gods built me different then they built the other Pure Ones, that's why the others went extinct before I came here. Everything we've been through up until now has apparently been a walk in a park."

Regina knit her brows, "What?"

"I'm supposed to save and help save basically everything. Lands, countries, continents, worlds, realms. I'm supposed to help with it all."

"Wow…"

"Hook and Mulan are coming back with my next challenge…"

"Wow…" Regina moved and held onto her wife tight.

"Yeah. Grandmother Eva said that I'm supposed to leave Bailee and Grace and Cameron and Remy and Amelia in charge and take everyone else with me… I can't do that."

"Darling…"

"No. I can't win if I think that something might happen to Bailee or you. I need you here safe."

Regina hugged her, "It sounds like Eva was being pretty definite when she told you specifics…"

Emma slumped forward, "Bailee is just barely 10…"

"Grace was three the last time she took over the kingdom. I think they'll be fine. Van Dyke will be here to help, too."

Emma swallowed, "Well, I guess I'm going to tell everyone to start training in the morning…"

~0~0~0~0~0~

Everyone was in the throne room when Hook and Mulan rushed in.

"Emma, we've got some news…" Hook looked away from her, "Another land is in trouble. They need our help. They need you."

Emma stood and walked down the steps, "I know." She took the letter from Hook and read it over. "Well folks," she turned to the rest of the people in the room, "What say we save this Princess Abigail…? Hm?"

**AN: Thoughts and feels? Please, for the last time, read and review!**


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